OPC UA - Data Foundation for Intelligent Manufacturing

For smart manufacturing, the foundation for its realization is digital interconnection - the acquisition of production data, process parameters, and energy consumption by the entire enterprise from the ground floor equipment, on-site sensors to the machine, and the basis for data analysis for overall production optimization. The traditional fieldbus only solves the data at the control level, while the intelligent manufacturing involves the problems of global optimization, strategy, path, and planning. These interconnections also involve the integration of heterogeneous networks and multi-generational products. OPC UA is the focus of this issue. It is necessary to analyze it and analyze its application here.


First, changes in the demand for communications in smart manufacturing

Intelligent manufacturing and traditional vertical network architectures are different. Traditional pyramid architecture data from the bottom layer to the top layer of data, intelligent manufacturing will face a new situation, that is, distributed computing units need different data, data to end The end-to-end approach to the free combination of applications, as shown in Figure 1, automated data, including the classic architecture, from the control level, process control, shop floor management, SCADA, MES / ERP, and other levels.


B&R, OPC UA, SoA


Therefore, the new automation technology based on the CPS architecture requires a new architecture to support the interconnection of the network. The traditional field bus is mainly to solve interconnection and communication (communication protocol and specification), and in heterogeneous networks, and the integration of IT and automation. There is an urgent need for semantic interoperability, which not only includes the data transmitted by the communication, but also includes the syntax and semantics of the data in order to achieve mutual communication and data processing.


Second, why use OPC UA?

1. Introduction to OPC UA Technology

OPC UA aims to solve the interconnection problems at the semantic interoperability level. Of course, the entire OPC UA architecture, as shown in Figure 2, includes the transmission mechanism, metadata, basic information model, and industry information model. The entire architecture design idea is service-oriented architecture (SoA ).

Actually, OPC UA includes a transmission protocol (supporting TCP binary and Web Service transmission mechanism). On the right is a specification including a meta information model. OPC UA service set provides connections, attribute management, secure communication services, browsing, and other kinds of transmission communication. Related service subsets. In the basic information model, OPC UA provides a standard Web service to access the framework of objects in the address space and ensure the security of information transmission.


B&R, OPC UA, SoA

Figure 2 - OPC UA architecture

The basic information model of OPC UA is to provide visitors with standards for access and operation, data formats, and semantics.

The object of OPC UA is composed of nodes connected by reference. Different node classes transmit different semantics. A variable node represents a "value" that can be read or written, and a variable node has a related data type (DataType) to define the actual value, such as a string, a float, a structure, and the like. A Method Node represents a function that can be invoked. Each node has a large number of attributes including a unique identifier called a NodeID and a non-localized name called a BrowsName.

For both the object and the variable node (known as an instance node), the node always refers to a type definition (ObjectType or VariableType) that describes their semantics and structure.


2. 8 main reasons for using OPC UA

Figure 3 summarizes the reasons why OPC UA has become the focus of smart manufacturing interconnect technology in several aspects as shown in the figure, the key is:

(1) OPC UA establishes an information model. For different industries, the essence of the mechanism for interconnecting and establishing collaboration is to establish an information model and collect and group related data according to a certain architecture and perform application analysis.

(2) Security mechanism: For OPC UA, it supports X509 security information interaction standards, and supports the definition of roles and rules, and defines different levels of rights management for applications.

B&R, OPC UA, SoA

Figure 3 - 8 main reasons supporting OPC UA

(3) Manufacturer-independent independence: For End User, this is very important, because any company's private communication standards and protocols cannot be a user's standard, and OPC UA itself is a public welfare organization, and various technical organizations Willing to follow the development of OPC UA. Currently, various fieldbus foundations such as POWERLINK and Profinet have joined the OPC UA Foundation, including vertical industry technical organizations such as FDT/DTM, OMAC/PackML, MTConnect and Euromap.


Third, OPC UA for industry information model

Figure 4 shows that the OPC UA Foundation has not only been supported by various fieldbus organizations, but also supported by industry technical organizations such as OMAC/PackML, MTConnect, ISA-95, and AutomationML.

B&R, OPC UA, SoA

Figure 4 - OPC UA Support Organization

As shown in Figure 5, even though the Euromap 77 specification defines the interface between the injection molding machine and the MES, this defines the type and structure of the object data. In addition to the basic data model, the basic data model and the machine include the basics of the machine. Data objects and standards for information, configuration, injection units, molds, drive systems, etc., and standard definitions for work order and data group management in Euromap 77.2, 77.3, which allows different upper management systems to be used in a standard way Visit different manufacturers' injection molding machines, monitor their status, and give instructions to the machine for execution.

B&R, OPC UA, SoA

Figure 5 - The information model structure of Euromap


IV. B&R's Complete Intelligent Manufacturing Data Interconnection Solution


B&R, OPC UA, SoA

Figure 6 - Integrated industrial site communications interconnect solution from B&R

B&R provides a complete solution for the entire Internet: including the following aspects:

(1) High dynamic and real-time response of the device - Using POWERLINK real-time Ethernet technology, high-speed control tasks for 100μS can be realized, and it is suitable for time-critical tasks such as motion control, CNC and robots, and high-performance vision systems.

(2) For OPC UA, B&R supports TCP/IP transport in the asynchronous data phase of POWERLINK and can be used to solve the transmission of OPC UA (OPC and OPC UA support HTTP and TCP transmissions) so that POWERLINK can be used in real time. Tasks can also be used for semantic data transmission of non-real-time tasks.

(3) openSAFETY is a transmission mechanism for functional safety applications. It can operate independently of the bus. openSAFETY solves the problem of functional safety consistency, ensuring that on-site equipment will not cause harm to humans, and that the control system will not be subject to destruction. .

(4) TSN technology: For the future IIoT applications, the use of big data transmission and analysis, and reduce the hardware and software investment in the communication interconnection, TSN will adopt the new transmission mechanism of 802.1, most of the leading automation companies such as ABB, B&R, SIEMENS, Schneider, and Bosch Rexroth are all developing next-generation TSN products, while other IT vendors including Huawei and CISCO are also actively promoting the TSN productization process.

In addition to these proprietary POWERLINK, openSAFETY, and future-proof OPC UA+TSNs, B&R has a large number of bus modules that are used to connect existing equipment in existing plants including Profibus, Ethernet/IP, and SERCOSIII modules for interconnection. Use it.


About Beccale

B&R is an innovative and driven automation company headquartered in Austria with global branches. In July 2017, B&R became a business unit of the ABB Group. As a global leader in industrial automation, B&R integrates cutting-edge technologies and advanced engineering capabilities to provide a complete solution for machine and factory automation, motion control, HMI, and integrated safety technology for various industrial customers. Through the IoT communication standards such as OPC UA, POWERLINK and openSAFETY, and B&R's powerful Automation Studio software development environment, B&R constantly redefined the future of automation engineering. B&R maintains a continuous spirit of innovation and provides customers with more streamlined and exceeding-precise cutting-edge technologies and solutions in the field of industrial automation.

For more information visit: http://


CBD Products

Cbd Vape Products Oem,D8 Vape Pen Oem,Cbd Disposable Vape Pen Oem,China Cbd Vape Products Oem

Shenzhen MASON VAP Technology Co., Ltd. , https://www.cbdvapefactory.com